Due to miniaturization of an optical module, reducing a height of an optical fiber used in the vicinity of the optical module (suppressing a height from the substrate as for the optical fiber having one end vertically connected to the optical module or the like) is demanded. To reduce the height of the optical fiber, it is necessary to form a bent portion in the optical fiber.
Patent Document 1 discloses an optical fiber component constituted by an optical component body and an optical fiber and having the optical fiber obliquely attached so as to form a certain angle (preferably, 10° or more) with respect to a center line of the optical component body. The Patent Document 1 discloses that: a steep bent portion may be generated in the optical fiber due to oblique attachment of the optical fiber with respect to the center line of the optical component body; there may be a problem in which mechanical reliability of the optical fiber is deteriorated by large distortion caused at the steep bent portion of the optical fiber; and the distortion is removed by heating the steep bent portion in order to secure the mechanical reliability of the optical fiber. Additionally, the Patent Document 1 discloses that discharging, a carbon dioxide gas laser, a gas burner, and the like can be utilized as a heating unit to resolve the distortion.
Patent Document 2 discloses an apparatus to bend an optical fiber by continuously heating a certain range of the optical fiber by using a non-contact heating unit while relatively moving the optical fiber and the non-contact heating unit. Additionally, this Patent Document 2 discloses that arc discharge is suitably used as the non-contact heating unit.